I push, I pull
Go back and forth finding myself pounding on a locked door
I try to make it out alone without your help
But I know I'll never win this war
I can never be, never be, free without you
I can never be, never be, me without you
This is the sound of chains breaking
This is the beat of a heart changing
This is a song of a soul forgiven
This is my freedom hymn
The above is the opening verse and the first part of the chorus of Freedom Hymn by Austin French. I heard it for the first time last Saturday night, and I had never heard of Austin French before I pulled out my phone to Shazzam the song. It turns out that he was a contestant of a singing competition similar to the Voice. Freedom Hymn is an awesome song, and I will probably include the video with this., but for now I want to focus on the line This is the sound of chains breaking.
After I listened to the song for a second time a few minutes after I found out what it was, I spent some time thinking about that line. The sound of chains breaking led me to the sound of freedom. My mind went to the sound of the gate closing behind me as I walked out of prison. That was the sound of freedom. I heard that door shut and stood on the right side for a change and looked across the yard at the trees and saw my father waiting to take me home. It was an awesome moment. But the thing is, the sound of that door wasn't really any different than the slamming prison doors I had been hearing every day for seven and a half years. It still sounds the same when I go into a jail to minister. Sometimes it shakes me up when I hear it, even though I know I will be walking out. That day, it was the sound of freedom.
My mind shifted to the sound of a hammer striking a nail. That is not a sound that we would normally associate with freedom, and the people standing around Golgotha two thousand years ago seeing the nails being driven into the hands and feet of Jesus, hearing the hammer strike the nail and hearing His cries of pain were not thinking that they were hearing the sounds and seeing the sights of freedom.
Sometimes the sounds and sights of freedom aren't that much or any different than the sounds and sights of despair and anguish and death. They can sound so similar that we may not even realize we are in the moment when defeat turns to victory and freedom rings out. The disciples that dared draw near enough to see and hear the horrors of the crucifixion believed all hope was lost. In fact, the opposite was true. Three days later they knew.
Our personal freedom hymn may not sound like rejoicing. It may sound like our worst fears come true, but if we turn to Daddy in our despair and trust Him, He can use the most horrible sound, sights and feelings of defeat to bring us to the place where joy and peace reign, where death loses its sting and life is full of freedom and worth living. We can't break our own chains, but the good news is that we don't have to. Jesus broke them when He endured the nails and the cross on our behalf. Who the Son sets free is free indeed.
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